Keys, Pegula Lead American Charge Into Wimbledon Quarterfinals
Two of the final eight women at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships hail from the United States, as Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys secured their respective spots in the quarterfinals at the All-England Club.
Pegula advanced on Sunday as she defeated Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-3 to reach her sixth straight major quarterfinal. The Buffalo, New York native has now reached the final eight at all four Slam events.
“To say that I’ve done that at all four is something I’ve wanted to say. Obviously, I hope I can do more than that,” said Pegula. “But at the same time, it’s pretty cool to say that I’ve done that at every Slam. Just the last couple of years to be able to accomplish all of that is pretty crazy. Especially here, I feel like Wimbledon is really special to make the final eight as well. It was definitely a goal. Yeah, I’m really happy I get to kind of mark that off.”
Pegula now advances to play Marketa Vondrousova, who defeated Marie Bouzkova in a battle of Czechs.
Keys played her fourth round match on Monday, and she fought back from the brink to defeat teenage qualifier Mirra Andreeva 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2. Keys was down a set and 1-4 in the second set, but turned the tide in the match to come back and win in three sets.
“I’m still trying to figure out how I turned that around. She’s obviously a phenomenal player who’s playing with no pressure and is going for everything. I had to find a way to stay in the match, keep the momentum going…and here we are,” said Keys. “You don’t want to be the person who loses to her, for her to get to her first quarterfinal. I knew if I could stay in the match my many—many, many—more years on Tour would kick in. I’ve fallen short of getting back in the quarterfinals a few times. It’s absolutely amazing to do it.”
Keys moves on to play the winner of second-seed Aryna Sabalenka and 21st seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova.
